Wow, this band is weird. Yikes. On side one of the LP, I can’t help but think of Jello’s vocals in “Meathook up My Rectum”-era Tumor Circus, backed by an oft mid-tempo, sometimes-quirky, sometimes-menacing rock band. Dense music that’s occasionally bordering on psychedelic—or at least really, really odd—and utterly convincing. Actually, yeah, couch this one between Tumor Circus and the Butthole Surfers around the time Psychic, Powerless… came out. And yet, side two is even gloomier and doomier and sounds almost like an entirely different band, complete with male-female vocals and a markedly different recording quality? Who the hell are these people? What is going on here? I was ready to write these guys off as just another grind band, judging from the horrible cover art, but they’re much more than that. I mean, I don’t entirely know what they are, but Sick Surreal is certainly an odd, captivating listen. The title is absolutely spot-on. This is fever-dream punk.
–keith (Know)